Did you know Disney offered a fun event called Pirates and Pals? This is a fun dessert party and firework show hosted by Captain Hook and Mr. Smee. It starts about an hour and a half before the evening fireworks at Magic Kingdom. The event costs $45 for children 3-9, $84 for 10 and up (2020 pricing). It even includes a special surprise guest at the end. We love the movie Peter Pan and all the characters.
This was such a fun event for us to do on our arrival day. We arrived in the afternoon and took the Magical Express directly over to Contemporary. We left our luggage with the bellman and planned to take an Uber back to our hotel after the event. My parents were with us and were lucky to get a reservation at California Grill for dinner and fireworks while we attended the Pirates and Pals event. California Grill is one of the restaurants that dims the lights and you are able to watch and hear the whole show from your table. Caden and I ate dinner at the Quick Service cafeteria at Contemporary before attending.
Caden and I checked in and were given our seat number and pirate bandana. I had Caden dressed in his Peter Pan costume to have some fun with Captain Hook and Mr. Smee. One of my favorite things about Disney is when kids are dressed up cast members and characters act like your child is “the” person they are dressed up as. It makes it that much more fun for them to be in character. The tables were loaded with snacks (cookies, cotton candy, cupcakes, pretzels, chips, fruit) and a cake. You were able to take as much as you wanted of anything. There was a freezer with Mickey Bars being passed out. The drink choices consisted of Pirate Punch, Teas, bottled water, and sodas. Shortly after Captain Hook and Mr. Smee arrived and they set up to take pictures. After everyone was done with pictures we lined up and made our way to the boats.
We sat and the Captain of the boat entertained us with Pirate banter. We made our way around the Seven Seas Lagoon and parked right in front of the Castle. Soon the music started and the show began. It’s a different perspective being on the water watching the show but still very magical. We were lucky that we were on the side closer to the castle the left for anyone wondering. After the fireworks we hung around and the Electric Boat Parade passed by. When the show was over we made our way back to Contemporary. Guess who was waiting for us at the dock? Peter Pan! He led everyone to a tree where we all took pictures with him.
It was a fun experience. At the time, we went for Caden’s 3rd birthday so he was free since he was still 2. If I had to pay for the whole family, I may have thought more about it. I’m glad we did it and it was a lot of fun to have that time with the characters. It was also a great way to get our Disney trip started. If you have a Peter Pan enthusiast, I would definitely look into it. My recommendation would be to go on your arrival day if you are not visiting a park or if you are going during a party season (Halloween, Christmas, After Hours) go on a date the park closes early and you don’t have tickets; otherwise it’s a lot of time to lose at a park. Hope you enjoy your pirate adventure!
